The Golden State Warriors are 46-29 and seated sixth in the Western Conference, trailing Portland by 2.5 games for the fifth spot.

The Warriors are 24-13 at Oracle Arena where it will host the 27-48 Sacramento Kings in a game NBA oddsmakers are favoring the Warriors by 9 points.

Despite the Warriors’ exciting brand of basketball and lethal shooting backcourt, Bill Simmons claims the Warriors are the team that every Western opponent wants the draw. It doesn’t seem that should be the case, though. Mark Jackson has rebranded the Warriors as a good defensive team that simply plays at a faster pace, and the Warriors are holding opponents under 100 points per game this season.

Andrew Bogut has redefined his career as a purely defensive bruiser, and David Lee has made quantum leaps on the defensive end. Adding defensive stopper Andre Iguodala, along with the above-average defense of Klay Thompson, renders the Warriors a good defensive team. And there’s no doubt that the Warriors can score. So, as to the team being the club that “every Western opponent wants to draw,” it seems doubtful that is actually the case.

Even so, the Warriors have played just .500 ball over its last 10 games, and this is the time when teams need to be heating up for the playoffs. San Antonio demolished the Warriors Wed (Apr 2) night, as Stephen Curry hit just 5-of-15 from the floor and the Warriors shot 42 percent as a team.

Marreese Speights produced bight off the bench, hitting 10-of-16 from the floor for 22 points in 30 minutes, but he was one of just three Warriors to shoot over 50 percent for the game, and the other two attempted just 13 shots between them (Klay Thompson and Hilton Armstrong).

This game is relatively meaningless for the Kings, since the club is 21 games under .500 and far removed from being anywhere near the playoff picture. It’s an enigmatic club, featuring a lot of talent, but it hasn’t gelled together well, and it’s almost incredible (on paper) to figure how the Kings are so bad. The offensive numbers are a bit inflated due to pace, but it is still a team featuring three guys near or above 20 in PER.

There’s multiple young talents to develop, and the team recently gave up on a lottery pick (Jimmer Freddette, now signed with the Bulls) because it couldn’t find room for him in the rotation. It just doesn’t seem to add up, yet the Kings will be back in the lottery again, for what seems like the 100th straight year.

SAC Trends: 5-0-1 ATS in last 6 road games; 4-0-1 ATS in last 5 road games vs teams with winning home records; 0-4-1 ATS in last 5 Friday games.

GSW Trends: 6-1-2 ATS in last 9 games following SU loss of more than 10 points; UNDER 5-1-1 in last 7 home games vs teams with losing road records; UNDER 5-1-1 in last 7 vs teams with road winning percentage of less than .400.

Head-to-head: UNDER 5-1 in last 6 meetings in Golden State; Kings 4-1-2 ATS in last 7 meetings; Kings 4-1-1 in last 6 meetings in Golden State.